Mark Twain? Heinrich Heine? Otto von Bismarck? George Bernard Shaw? James Boswell? Will Rogers? Question for Quote Investigator: As a one-time resident of Cincinnati I knew that Mark Twain once worked in the city, and I always enjoyed the comment he reportedly made about it: When the end of the world comes, I want to …
Tag Archives: George Bernard Shaw
Quote Origin: Now We’re Just Haggling Over the Price
George Bernard Shaw? Winston Churchill? Groucho Marx? Max Aitken? Mark Twain? W. C. Fields? Bertrand Russell? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a famous story about sex and money that I have heard in myriad variations. A man asks a woman if she would be willing to sleep with him if he pays her an …
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Quote Origin: You Have an Idea. I Have an Idea. We Swap. Now We Each Have Two Ideas.
George Bernard Shaw? SYSTEM magazine? Stanley B. Moore? Charles F. Brannan? Jimmy Durante? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a very valuable insight in the following saying that is credited to George Bernard Shaw: If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples then you and I will still …
Quote Origin: America Is the Only Country That Went from Barbarism to Decadence Without Civilization In Between
Ogden Nash? George Bernard Shaw? James Agate? La Liberté? Winston Churchill? Henry James? Oscar Wilde? Georges Clemenceau? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a famous humorous saying about the United States that has been credited to four celebrated wits: George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Winston Churchill, and Georges Clemenceau: America is the only country that …
Quote Origin: The Play Was a Great Success, But the Audience Was a Total Failure
Oscar Wilde? William Collier? Daniel Frohman? George Bernard Shaw? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: I have been involved in several theatrical productions and sometimes the response of an audience to a show is mystifying. A colleague told me that Oscar Wilde watched an early performance of Lady Windermere’s Fan, and the reception was unenthusiastic. Later …
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Quote Origin: A Single Death Is a Tragedy; A Million Deaths Is a Statistic
Joseph Stalin? Leonard Lyons? Beilby Porteus? Kurt Tucholsky? Erich Maria Remarque? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a vivid statement that typifies a heartless attitude toward human mortality: A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic. These words are often attributed to the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, but I have not …
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